And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them . . .
The glory of the Lord! Wow! There they were, out at night, tending their sheep and a mighty angel from Heaven appears, and the glory of the Lord comes down also. A simple word search of the Old Testament will reveal that the glory of the Lord isn't just some "feeling" or "warm fuzzy" because an angel is around. It is the weighty, tangible presence of our holy God in some way I don't fully understand. A small sampling of the many verses in which we find it mentioned makes that abundantly clear:
Ex 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
Ex 40:34-35 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
1 Kings 8:10-11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
2 Chron 7:1-3 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."
Ezek 1:28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
It is no wonder, then, that the shepherds were, ". . . filled with fear." There was an angel—reason enough—and the glory of the Lord. I can only imagine that in a moment these men, who were raised under the Law and who knew much about God's holiness and justice and wrath, and little about His love, were filled with terror. His glory must have, in a moment, destroyed any pretense of their own goodness or righteousness as they were in the presence of His holiness. How their righteousness must have suddenly seemed as filthy rags, and how terror must have filled their souls. But then . . .
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people...” and the message of a Savior—One to save and not condemn them, One to do what they could not, One to free them, One to make them right with God—was given! No wonder it was proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest!" At that moment there is no chance they could have claimed any glory for themselves. His manifest presence and holiness would have stripped them of any pretense and it would have been clear to all—man and angel alike—that God alone was doing the salvation, and to Him be the glory!
How they must have been filled with joy as they went out, found this good news to be true, and returned glorify and praising God and telling what they had seen and heard! It must have been amazing . . .
You said: "I can only imagine that in a moment these men, who were raised under the Law and who knew much about God's holiness and justice and wrath, and little about His love, were filled with terror. His glory must have, in a moment, destroyed any pretense of their own goodness or righteousness as they were in the presence of His holiness. How their righteousness must have suddenly seemed as filthy rags, and how terror must have filled their souls."
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost every word of this. They must have felt like Isaiah did in Isaiah 6 where he "saw the LORD ... high and exalted" ... and his response was "Woe to me ... I am ruined!"
But I disagree with the thought that the shepherds would have known little about God's love. God showed His love and mercy to the Israelites over and over (and then over and over some more) in the OT. He declared to them, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Plus, He stated His love when He stated name to Moses: "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness ...".
So I think they knew of His love ... and perhaps if they had not they would not have dared to go to the manger at all.
Just my thoughts!
Hi Amy! Thanks so much for sharing. I have always hoped that this blog would be a place to refine one another.
ReplyDeleteI totally see what you mean, and I guess I should have taken more room to explain myself (I was afraid it was getting too long).
I believe that they would have known the verses about His love, and the places in history He showed it, but, experientially (is that a word?), He had been silent for the last 400 years, they were occupied by a foreign army which may have made them wonder if He'd abandoned them, and they were under the law which, by its repetition of sin and the sacrifice of blood, was continually reminding them of His wrath toward sin and the penalty of death for sin. That's why I think they would have probably been dominated by fear in their hearts—as probably any unredeemed person would in His presence.
That said, I may be wrong, I just know it says they were filled with fear. I also know that at times what I believe to be true in my theology and head doesn't capture my heart and it is easy, in those moments, to let feelings rule—even if they are contrary to what I "know" to be true. I just think that the law, as the tutor toward Christ, would give them more fear than security in their relationship with Him. That is why a Savior would be such good news, because they realize they are hopeless to save themselves, and up until then they only had the law to relate to Him by. Up until then, while hearing about His love, the were still living in a system that made His wrath and justice and sin a much more present reality than the love and security we relate to Him with on this side of the cross. Again, I may be wrong. Anyone else's thoughts? Thanks so much for your sharing. Merry Christmas!